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Lent reminds us that the landscapes of practice and preparation are central to our Christian faith. Most of us prefer the idea of setting up camp on the mountaintop, focusing in on the moments of achievement, success, or completion. But the reality is that the great majority of spiritual formation actually happens on the arduous journey up, or the frightening tumble down the mountain.
However, it is the rare Christian who knows how – in the midst of these difficult seasons of wilderness, wandering, pain, confusion, disappointment – to actually practice discipleship. Preparing for the coming Kingdom – to live our lives now in such a way so that we are incrementally becoming more and more the people God is calling us to be – is the practice of spiritual discipleship.
Instead, most of us do what C.S. Lewis so eloquently described as children who “go on making mud pies in the slums because [we] cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea…” He finishes the thought with this admonition: “We are far too easily pleased.”
I’d like to call us this month to a vulnerable and ruthless inventory of the places in our own lives, where instead of practicing and preparing for the kingdom, we are being far too easily pleased.
It is sad and true that the past few years of news about Christian leaders who are living deeply broken secret lives serve all of us by horribly illustrating the fruit of this sort of thing. When our secret, private self begins to diverge too far from our public self, becoming pleased by easy things or shortcuts that are of the world, we all too often are in dangerous territory. All the “another Christian leader exposed for abuse of power, spiritual manipulation, financial fraud, sexual misconduct and abuse…” headlines should be a spiritual shot across the bow for all of us.
How is it then that we might enter into some Lenten practices and preparations that could assist us in doing the hard work of becoming Christlike, and of giving up the easy pleasures and shortcuts for the joys to be found in the kingdom of God? My father taught me that discipline is saying no to what seems good now, so that I could say yes to what is better later. But how is it that we develop that sort of self-control and discipline?
Through practice.
Here are three radical practices I would like to call every Vineyard Columbus member to this Lent:
Radical Confession
Be ruthless in your inventory of your capacity to sin. This doesn’t imply that we self-shame, but rather that we self-report. Consider this: we all hold a secret self, a private self, and a public self. When we confess, we must report on the truth about the secret self. What is happening in your heart that no one else is aware of? What temptations are you facing? Where do you struggle with patterns of sin that you hide? We should confess our sin, our temptations, and also our inclinations toward temptation. The process of radical confession simply means that we allow ourselves to be known fully: by ourselves, by another safe person, and by God. This is one reason that the Bible and VC talks so much about community. Confession doesn’t happen in the context of a big Sunday service, but rather in a small group of trusted friends or with a pastor or leader. If you need to speak with a pastor about something you need to confess, you are welcome to contact us and we’ll connect you with a pastor here for a time of pastoral counsel. You can also practice confession in a small group.
*To view and download the Confession guide, please check out the resources section on our Lenten Series page.
Radical Satisfaction
We live in a word that practices accumulation and thrives on creating a constant feeling of never-enoughness. But the scripture speaks to us about finding our satisfaction in Christ alone and reminds us that ‘stuff’ doesn’t last! Practice the art of satisfaction when you are tempted toward needing more, better, newer... stop googling vacations you can’t afford; stop scrolling through influencers that make you feel jealous. Practice the art of satisfaction when you are tempted to compare yourself to others. Turn your eyes away from things that draw you into the false ideal, and commit yourself to existing in what’s real. Psychologists tell us that the further our ‘real’ is from our ‘ideal’, the more unhappy and anxious we will be. Jesus tells us to look to Him to provide for us, to satisfy our needs, and to fulfill our identity. Jesus is with us in our real lives! What can you remove from your life/feed/view that will help you refocus on Him? Where are you tempted toward finding a ‘buzz’ that will make you feel a temporary satisfaction, but leave you hungering for more? How can you remove that temptation from your life? This Lent, consider joining Celebrate Recovery, where others are working toward finding satisfaction in Jesus, instead of in substances or life-controlling habits. One of my favorite CR stories is that when I referred a friend to the group, he visited but he felt a bit uncomfortable and leaned over to the guy next to him and said: “I don’t think I belong here; I’m not quite as messed up as the rest of these folks.” The guy leaned back and gently whispered: “Oh yes you are!” … without an ounce of condemnation, shaming, or admonition in his voice. As Gerald May, Christian psychiatrist writes: “The psychological, neurological, and spiritual dynamics of full-fledged addiction are actively at work within every human being.” If you find yourself resisting that idea, pick up his book “Addiction and Grace” and read what he has to say. Our search for satisfaction must be pointed toward Christ alone.
Radical Prayer & Contemplation
Our early Christian fathers and mothers were deeply formed by practices of prayer and contemplation. And these practices weren’t theoretical! They were built into their daily lives and family rhythms over and against the routines of the world around them. To be a Christian meant to be in deep community, to know the story of scripture, and to have one’s life radically transformed by the kingdom of God and the character of Christ. These days, people are often times told that being a Christian means simply praying a prayer. But Jesus calls us to allegiance. And allegiance means that a person is deeply and daily focused on the thing they have allegiance to. I am quite troubled by the degree to which Christians engage in social media, news and entertainment, not because those things are bad in and of themselves, but because they are so formational! What we watch, see, and stare at for hours… we become! So, it’s important that as followers of Jesus we are rooted and established in scripture, we are curious about what God is doing in our midst, and we are fighting to hold to the fruits of the spirit. And all of that requires the grace found in Christ and the power given to us through the Spirit. Where and when are you soaking in God’s presence? Reading the Bible? Praying and listening? Asking questions and wrestling with questions of faith? Our world today requires us as Christians to continually ask ourselves the question of ‘to whom are we demonstrating our allegiance?’ One easy way to start a practice of prayer and contemplation is to listen to the Lenten Audio Devotionals each day on the VC App (or you can read the printed version of the audio devotionals). Also, consider reaching out to find a Small Group, or join in with men's, women’s, singles, marriage & family or student community that can encourage you in your life with Christ.
These radical practices will not save us from our sinfulness. But with the friendship of Christ, the companionship of His spirit, the community of fellow sisters and brothers, we have so many ways of choosing practices that can prepare us to become the people Jesus is calling us to be. God’s desire is plainly laid out when scripture tells us what the fruits of our relationship with him should be: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.
If we can take time to cultivate those fruits through actual, real world, honest to goodness practice, we will become folks who can walk through the desert spaces with Christ and be more protected from the easy pleasures of the world around us. The easy pleasures of the world: sex, substance, power, ego, material stuff, are fleeting. The things that might feel pleasurable in the moment can destroy. The voice that says “just this one time” about sin is a lie. We are creaturely, which means we are controlled by our appetites unless we practice learning to restrain them. We are creaturely, which also means we are made in the image of God and loved by Him!
This Lent, may we choose as followers of Jesus to abandon the easy pleasures of the world for the eternal meaning and purpose and identity we find in allegiance to Christ. May God protect us from our own secret selves, our tendency to always want to take shortcuts, and our prideful inclinations, and may He always draw us deeper into reality, into confession, into satisfaction, and into knowing Him more deeply.
God loves you with an everlasting love. It is his kindness that leads to repentance. He speaks to you these words: be still, and know that I am God. Today, if He is stirring up confession or repentance or a desire to practice your faith in the above ways this Lent, I urge you to respond through concrete action.
